[Sibe74]

Okay so first of all here is my setup:
Hopper, Xbox 360 and Vizio Blu-Ray player all going into 3 inputs on a Sony HTS-S360 surround sound system via HDMI. Then the surround sound receiver feeds to my Sharp HDTV via HDMI.

Recently had a Hopper/Joey system installed (1 Hopper 3 Joeys) and when the installer hooked up the Hopper to my surround sound via HDMI we heard a pop sound and receiver went into a protect mode. The surround sound receiver would not come out of the protect mode so the installer took it and had it repaired (new circuit board of some kind). Now I get the surround sound receiver back from them and hook it up and the same thing happens.

Has anyone else seen this problem? Any thoughts of what could cause this?

This same surround sound receiver has had Directv, Comcast receivers as well as the XBox and Blu-Ray player hooked up to it without issue.

 

[P Smith]

I would research your power, cables, grounding, etc between all the devices...

 

[tpbrady]

If you have a volt meter, disconnect the HDMI cable from the Hopper. Set the volt meter in the AC voltage mode 200V range and touch one lead to the satellite input on the Hopper and the other to a grounded portion on the back of the surround sound system. If you see an AC potential then you need to see whether it is coming from the surround sound or the Hopper. You might be able to determine this by disconnecting everything from the Surround Sound and leaving it plugged into the wall and do the same test. If the AC voltage is not there, then some other device connected to the surround sound is the probable culprit. If the AC voltage is still there then test between the Hopper and the RF input to the TV. If you don't see any voltage then, the electrical issue is probably in the surround sound system.

The HDMI cable includes an ground lead, so if you have any stray AC/DC voltage on the neutral or ground side of one device and connect it with an HDMI cable to a device that is properly grounded then that stray voltage is going to ground. That normally results in a loud pop, a puff of smoke, an increased heart rate, and a broken piece of electronics.

 

[Wire Nut]

I agree, sounds like hopper and surround sound head unit are at different electrical potentials. A good start is plug them both into the same surge protector and make sure it is a quality one. This will ensure the frames of both pieces of equipment are at the same potential. Try a different HDMI cable too. If you're not using 7.1 CH try toslink (optical) cable to the head unit and HDMI direct to the tv. May be a bad hopper but sounds like something else is going on here.

 

[TxDave]

I have the same Sony HTS-S360 surround sound system via HDMI hooked to my hopper since 23rd of last month and have had no problems. It must be electrical as everyone else has suggested.